Share this:

A controversial proposed law could severely limit the number of new liquor licenses in the city by nixing exceptions governing watering holes’ proximity to each other.

Bar owners are fuming over the bill, which Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he is sponsoring to eliminate exemptions from a rule banning bars from being within 500 feet of each other.

The State Liquor Authority approves those exemptions, which Silver said have gotten out of hand.

“The exception was to be used sparingly and only when a community voiced no objections,” Silver said. “Over time, however, the SLA’s approval of exceptions to the 500-foot rule became the rule rather than the exception. As a result many communities have had to tolerate excessive noise and rowdiness at all hours of the night.”

But Rob Bookman, who represents the New York Nightlife Association, said, “If businesses cannot obtain liquor licenses at new locations, there will be no new hotels, no new restaurants, no free marketplace, and ultimately, no tourism. The city will be finished.”